Laura Lloyd

Client Success Director

We caught up with Laura to find out what a normal week looks like for her, what her role in the business entails, and to ask her some random personal questions!

I have the honour of being a co-director at Stream, where I manage an awesome team of passionate individuals, helping them to push boundaries in our sector, strive for ambitious goals and deliver real return for our clients. I truly love what I do. I love mentoring new talent and I love that I play an integral part on the direction and success of Stream. Starting off working for the Founders as a placement student and never once asking for a pay rise or promotion, I am proof that that with hard work, dedication and passion on my part and a strong reward and recognition approach that goes beyond mere financial drivers, you really can achieve anything that you put your mind to.

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, drop me an email or just give me a call on 01844 208180.

Lauras Favourites

Favourite Drink

Hands down my go to social drink is Prosecco – I have been given several gifts in the past with the saying ‘This house is run on love, laughter and Prosecco’, which says it all really.

My drinks orders are very predictable: find in me a Starbucks – a Chai Tea Latte, at a lunch meeting – Orange Juice and Lemonade, in a coffee shop – a cappuccino and at my desk – I never say no to a cuppa tea (it’s a given I’ll say yes!).

Favourite Travel Destination

I have been lucky enough to have travelled to some amazing countries, staying in luxury hotels during our event management days.

I have the most incredible memories of South Africa (both professionally and personally). From the sensational food of Marrakech to the breath-taking views of Rio, the adventure of Iceland and the romance of Venice, I love experiencing new food, new cultures and meeting new people.

Favourite TV Show

We are a binge-watch household and will go all in on a show watching nothing else. I’ve just finished Grey’s Anatomy (start to finish!), we love any American fire or detective drama and shows like Designated Survivor.

If it’s just me watching, I’m a total sucker for rom-com drama type shows – Heartland, Chesapeake Shores, This is Us, Virgin River – basically easy, ‘don’t have to think about it’ watching.

Favourite Hobby

My dedicated me-time in a week is my Zumba class – I love that I can forget all my inhibitions and just let go – dance the hour away, often singing along and looking like a wally but I just don’t care. The buzz and adrenaline off the back a session with Andrea leaves me high for days.

On the rare occasion I can get out, nothing beats a quiet sunny bike ride to blow the cobwebs away - I’ve completed a few 100km through-the-night rides in past years. At the weekend, you are most likely to find us simply in the park or at a national trust property, outside having fun with the children, friends and family.

Favourite Podcast

It’s difficult to find the time for podcasts as my children normally demand the Trolls or Encanto soundtrack in the car but I love tuning in to Iain Pringle and guests on The Loyalty Podcast – and have that weird celeb-struck moment when we then actually talk in person.

Every time I listen to Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby it leaves me feeling warm and happy – that I have got this and I am doing a good job. Mum life isn’t perfect and everyone – from celebrities to the smiley, fully made-up mum in street to the mums at the school gate – we all face the same challenges.

Idols/ Heroes

It is ordinary people who do extraordinary things and those around me that inspire me the most. From my parents who have demonstrated first-hand what loyalty and hard work can achieve, to my mother-in-law who raised the remarkable man I was fortunate to marry, to my brother who bounces from set backs with energy and vigour and Melanie who inspires me daily with her passion, hard work and vision to strive forward. Recent stories of inspiration come from the likes of Sir Caption Tom Moore, Tony Hudgell, Deborah James, Bradley Lowery, and Malala Yousafzai to name a few.

A Typical Week

As a proud Mumma to two adorable, lively munchkins and wife to Tom, my husband and rock, we are navigating this crazy world one step (or giant leap) at a time! There are many spinning plates in the Lloyd household and a typical work normally revolves around keeping as many on their poles as possible. My daughter would adore a dog but for now we borrow friends as I’m not sure I’ve got the capacity to cope with a puppy right now!

Mornings start early and involve a military operation to get children up and dressed and to nursery and school ensuring that we have the right clothes on (is it a normal day, woodlands day or PE day?!) breakfast is eaten, hair is plaited, reading completed and recorded in the book, sun cream applied, school bags prepared, correct hat selected (is it a woolly or sun hat day?) and trying not to forgot water bottles or the many adhoc requirements that seem never ending as we run out the door and I pray that I’ve got my laptop and lunch with me. It’s then a mad dash to the office, trying not to be too late.

No two days at Stream at the same for me, although they tend to follow theme. Following a hybrid working approach, I normally in the office Monday to Wednesday and then get my head down at home on a Thursday and Friday. It’s generally a leadership day on a Monday so it’s a day full of meetings – sales, marketing, strategy – the day flies by but sets us up well for the week. One of my favourite aspects of my job is strategising and ‘solutionising’ with Melanie. When we manage to get focused time together 1+1=3 and we always walk away energised, with actions and the next avenue of attack that we need to take.

Tuesday and Wednesdays are dedicated to supporting our Client Success team in person and with that I could be doing anything from attending meetings, reviewing documents, scoping solutions, providing training and support, completing 1-2-1 sessions – it’s always a mixed bag! Thursdays and Fridays tend to be dedicated to towards marketing content, analysis, HR, proposals – the hefty stuff that needs more dedicated focus.

As the working day closes, it’s a mad dash back to collect children from various settings and spend the dedicated family-hour with them, we ban work wherever possible from that protected hour so that they get our full attention and we unwind a little. After bedtime, it’s normally cooking dinner for Tom and I, tidying up, watching a bit of whatever the latest binge is, probably opening the laptop to finish off the bits from the day, a walk with a friend, before collapsing into bed and hoping we get an unbroken nights sleep.

It is a privilege that I able to inspire my daughter and others that you can successfully have both – motherhood and a career that you are truly passionate about. It’s hard work, but you don’t have to compromise one for the other, they can work in balance and you can love being both.

What gets you out of bed?

My kids, and not just in the literal sense. Seeing them soak up the world around them, learn and continue to develop into the incredible little humans they are.

I truly love what I do and there is rarely a day that I am not excited about my job and the endless, achievable, possibilities that lie ahead. To have been named as one of the top 30 under 40 loyalty royalty, recognising emerging talent globally in 2020, was a huge highlight for me. In 2016, I created and presented my North Star journey to Melanie and Mark and I am immensely proud that before the age of 35 I’ve totally smashed those goals.

My get up and go is knowing that you don’t need to know everything, just to have a goal and a passion to get there. To seize every opportunity that comes your way and don’t be afraid to give it a go.

What keeps you up at night?

The obvious for any working mum: the mum mental-load! That annoying guilt that, in keeping all my plates spinning, what if I’ve let the wrong one(s) drop. If it’s been a particularly late night or long day on the laptop, it will often be the worry of what else there is to complete, or what I’ve forgotten for school.

Professionally, still being new to the world of leading a business, I often find myself fretting; am I doing the right thing, making the right decisions, do I know enough. As a manager, I truly believe in empowering my team and giving them the opportunity to learn and develop – there is a fine balance between also ensuring that I’m giving them enough time, enough support and guidance. How do I keep that harmony and ensure that we are truly pushing forward, innovating, exceeding clients expectations and that the team remain motivated and happy.